


Stay With Me (This Is What I Need)

by Delier



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaFuri is the best ship in the fandom, Alternate Universe - Spirits, Alternate Universe - Yokai, Anxious Furihata, Ayakashi, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Forehead Kisses, Friendship between human and yokai, Furihata will grow up, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jealous Akashi Seijuurou, Kise is a kitsune, Light Angst, Lots of tender moments, M/M, Pining, Protective Akashi Seijuurou, Protective Kise Ryouta, Slow Burn, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:00:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26111518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delier/pseuds/Delier
Summary: Furihata Kouki is a lonely child that one day finds a strange fox in the temple on a daily visit to his brother.This is a story about the years he spent befriending yokais and falling in love with the mysterious Akashi Seijuurou.
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou/Furihata Kouki, Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya, Midorima Shintarou/Takao Kazunari
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	Stay With Me (This Is What I Need)

**Chapter 1**

  
  


The day was cold when Furihata woke up from a deep sleep. No other day earlier that week had he woken up with the same feeling of being hugged by a large ice cube. Eyes half-closed by the remnants of sleep that still lingered, he watched the window imagining that he would see rain. The sky was gray however what really caught his eye was the crack in the window. Certainly, he had forgotten to close it completely at night and now the icy air made him pay for his carelessness.

Rising from the bed, he went to the window and closed it completely, longing for the comfort of his bed and the layers of blankets that would warm him up so he could go back to sleep. But as soon as he laid down again and had closed his eyes he heard three taps on his bedroom door. With a grunt he buried himself under the covers, hiding his head and hoping his mother wouldn’t realize he was awake.

“Kouki, it's time to get ready”

Knowing that his prayers were not going to be answered and his mother would be entering his bedroom soon, Furihata lifted the fabric minimally and tried to spy through the small opening to see what she would do. Hopefully she would feel guilty for making him leave the house and let him go back to sleep until later.

With a warm smile, she sat beside him on the bed and with her right hand raised the blanket in which he was hiding.

“I know it's a great day to stay in, but your brother will miss you if you don't go”

If it weren't for the sad gleam in her eyes, Furihata would have believed her words. That and the experiences of other moments served as a reminder that whoever she truly believed would feel abandoned would be himself. Having the same conversation about how he was and would remain well independent of him being alone or not would lead to the same result as always: the incredulous look and the insistence that he continue with his daily visits to the sanctuary.

Once again, she wore him down:

“Okay, I'm going to change soon and leave”

With a wide and satisfied smile, Yuriko ruffled his dark locks.

“Don’t forget…”

“To get Kaito’s food. Leave it to me” Furihata interrupted her, already foreseeing the huge smile on Kaito's face, looking like it would tear him in half.

With a sigh, he rose from the bed, carrying the covers wrapped around him and moving to the wardrobe to find warm and comfortable clothes for another day where he would spend most of his time away from home and probably away from the warm protection of the place where his brother was.

“Oh, the new sweater I gave you is still down there on the sofa” she commented with the intention of appearing to be giving him another scolding, but failing with trembling lips in a battle already lost against another smile. “You need to pay more attention and not leave your stuff lying around”

Furihata felt his cheeks burn with shame. Yuriko had reminded him moments before he went to sleep that he needed to take the gift and keep it in the appropriate place, but he had forgotten it because his thoughts were focused on something else. He was able to clearly visualize how his classmates would make fun of his mistake - already made several times and which he would hardly stop doing - and in that same instant he started to look at the floor, afraid to find the same look of childish debauchery he was used to in her face.

Feeling bitter about what had happened and afraid she would notice his mood change after remembering what awaited him on Monday, his jaw tensed and he muttered an answer trying not to let his choked voice slip.

“ I-I'm sorry, I'll pay more attention”

“You and your brother are the same, always leaving things lying around” she said and the brunet could hear the affection in her voice, probably remembering something embarrassing that they both did years ago and that he would rather bury in the deepest part of his mind “ I'll warm up your breakfast and leave it on the table. Be sure to eat before you leave, otherwise you…”

“You will pass out” Furihata added, feeling again the shyness with the memory of him collapsing in the middle of the street when he was eight after playing on an empty stomach for hours in the intense sun with his brother. The result was waking up on his brother's lap with curious gazes watching him. From that day on he vowed to never let that happen again. Just that fragment of memory of countless faces observing him was enough to make his face uncontrollably warm.

“And be sure to take it to your brother too”

Only after Yuriko left the room did the boy take off his pajamas, dropping it on the chair of the study table and put on warm clothes to go out, needing only his sweater to be dressed appropriately for the cloudy and freezing weather that was outside his home according to his view of the sky through the window.

Going down the stairs as slowly as he could the boy took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself mentally for the trip he would take to his brother.

In the kitchen he found his food and Kaito's where his mother had indicated a few moments ago. Opening the electric pan, he took his portion of rice with wakame, followed by natto, fish and vegetable soup. It was not his favorite meal, but it would be seen as a feast by his brother when he handed over the bento. However, Furihata was surprised not to see his mother while he was about to finish eating. Normally she would be doing the dishes and would say a loud goodbye to him, just so he could hear it during his run to the door to avoid being late to catch the bus. The boy considered looking for her to say goodbye but a quick look at the clock made him change his mind: he needed to hurry up so as not to let Kaito go to work without having something to eat. With what was left of his time he put the dishes in the sink, his brother's meal in his backpack and brushed his teeth. This was enough for his mother to return while he opened the door to leave.

“Kouki, you were forgetting ‘it’”

Furihata's eyes widened when he noticed the sweater in one of her hands. The same one which he had promised that he would remember to take with him. The day was just beginning and he had almost made another mistake were it not for the woman's intervention.

“T-thanks!”

Despite having failed and contrary to what he expected, his mother just shook her head and smiled as if she had already expected it and didn't mind.

“See you later. And be careful” she waved from the entrance hall, watching him put on his sneakers.

“See you later!”

When the boy left the house he was greeted by a blast of cold wind. It was still early fall, one of his favorite times of the year, but that didn't mean he loved being outside and feeling the cold air coming in under his clothes. What he loved so much were the colorful trees and the melancholic view he had, which matched how he normally felt : full of life but unable to fit in with the scenery around.

Yet that was not a line of thought that he would like to follow at that moment as the sadness would certainly show on his face. And he longed to leave his family alone and not bring problems to them after his father's farewell. So he tried to concentrate on the path he was taking - having given up the idea of catching the bus, since that would only make him have too much time inside his head. Kouki did that route every day although on weekends it happened earlier and he saw fewer people. And in the coldest months of the year the number of residents of the small town decreased even more due to their desire to hide from the cold and have warm drinks while staying with their families. Kouki hoped that his brother would not force him to accompany him on another tour around the neighborhood in that weather. Since he was no longer able to feel his own fingers after a few minutes away from his house, he wouldn't want to find out what they would be like after hours away from shelter.

It was with these internal prayers being repeatedly mentalized that he climbed the cement steps and came across the main torii gate. Its grayish color was a welcome sight after so many minutes of walking and it was something that always made him smile when he came to the Shinto temple to visit his brother. There, he was sure he would not see his classmates whose jokes always bothered him and were made to make him feel uncomfortable. Instead of having to go through it once more Kouki could stay inside the temple doing his homework in silence until it was time to return home. Or he could even venture out alone into the forest surrounding the temple and watch the birds bathe in the lake.

Before deciding what to do first that day, the boy proceeded to the purification fountain already imagining that the temperature of the water would be unpleasant. Taking a deep breath he picked up one of the available ladles and filled it with water. Then he poured its contents over his hands, washing the left hand first and then the right one remembering the first time his brother took him to the temple and taught him the correct way to get rid of impurities, and how to behave in the sanctuary every time he went to see him.

And after hearing stories from Kaito about how it was necessary to follow certain steps when he went there or how to behave in specific situations and events, otherwise he would face anger or be the target of a spirit’s mischief, Kouki started doing everything he could to avoid meeting one of those. At school he already suffered enough from being the target of other children's pranks and the idea of increasing the number of times he had to endure mockery during the day scared him. Searching for his belongings or ignoring provocations from acquaintances were things he was used to, yet thinking about similar or even worse situations with beings who were so different from him and his colleagues sent a shiver down his spine.

So he strode to the temple and maintained his distance from the center of the pavilion so that the gods and spirits would continue to wander without feeling uncomfortable. And when he was at the entrance of the temple, he removed his shoes and entered the space calling in a soft voice for his brother.

“Kaito, I'm here”

“I didn't expect to see you so soon, Kouki” a voice answered behind the boy, making him jump.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you” and although the other asked for forgiveness, the sound of his voice smiling showed that he had done it on purpose.

With a racing heart the brown-haired young man turned and raised his head to look Kaito in the eye. What he felt at that moment was relief. For a moment he thought that a yokai had answered him and was going to devour him.

“I can see what you are thinking just by looking at your face” the older brother commented with a tone of voice that showed how much fun he was having by teasing Furihata. “No spirit will want to eat bones. You need to get fatter”

“I-I'll never try to get fat!” the boy replied indignant and with his voice still trembling with fear.

“Um ... If I’m not mistaken you said you were going to grow up and you wouldn't need my help to clean the altar anymore. You won't grow if you don't eat more”

“I can clean the altar by myself!” Furihata said with a conviction that he hardly showed as he moved to the altar quickly. All he could think about was proving that his brother was wrong. The boys at his school never tried to understand the boy no matter what he did. But he believed that Kaito would be the exception if he tried harder.

Thus he took the cloth that was on the tatami and began to clean the table and objects with the utmost attention and as careful as possible, even though due to his clumsy nature some objects trembled when he returned them to their respective positions in the table.

Because he was concentrated in his task the other's comment almost went unnoticed by him.

"That was easier than I expected," Kaito tried to murmur, but another smile in his voice betrayed how much he was amused by the situation. Kouki had the impression that the other had achieved what he wanted with few well thought out words, but the need to prove his worth prevented him from thinking more about what his brother meant.

And Furihata hoped that the day would go on like that: him organizing and dusting objects and some rooms, before going out for a walk on the lake and then returning home. In spite of this, the silence was brief and soon the sound of a stomach rumbling resounded in the offering room.

“Not that I don't appreciate your help with cleaning but didn't mom send anything to eat?”

Kouki jumped at the same moment thinking about the mistake he committed when he forgot that yes, Yuriko had given him extra food. Which he was supposed to give to Kaito before he left the temple. With long strides he went to his backpack that was on the opposite side of the room and removed a square pot protected by fabric. And with a sheepish smile he offered the bento to his brother.

"Oh, it’s what I asked her to prepare. I was missing mom’s cooking" he said. And if Kouki had doubts about how genuine Kaito was being the moan of satisfaction he made after the first bite on the fish made him change his mind.

“Mom asked me to invite you for dinner. She said she will make your favorite dish” the boy said, in an attempt to change the subject and forget the mortification he felt at forgetting something basic that whether he wanted it or not had caused his brother trouble.

After eating for a few minutes, Kaito made a suggestion to the youngest:

“I will need to leave now and pay a visit to a house to help with a purification case. Do you want to come along?”

And without letting even a second pass, Kouki answered vehemently:

“N-no, I'm going to stay here today”

For a few moments Kaito continued to stare at him as if trying to find out if he was being sincere. In the meantime Furihata started to break out in a cold sweat. Did his brother realize that he was afraid to go? At other times when he had accompanied him, he saw shadowy figures moving around as if they were provoking him to follow them. However he never told his brother that and if it were up to him he never would. Kouki didn’t like the idea of being seen as abnormal and to have his brother look at him with pity or disgust.

Regardless of how much he tried to hold back any of his reactions and appear confident by hiding his shaking hands on his coat sleeve, the man looked satisfied and smiled sincerely.

“Will you be okay alone?”

A flash of memories of those moments of fear for thinking he saw something supernatural crossed his mind in an instant. He was afraid this would happen while he was alone, but he tried to calm himself before the choice of whether or not to stay was taken from him. Whenever he saw something he was not alone. On the contrary it is something that happened when he followed his brother on visits to other houses or at events with more people. Alone he would be safe. Most likely. He shuddered.

“Y-yes!”

Nodding, the older boy said goodbye with a wave of his hand.

“I should be back in an hour. If you need anything, I'll have my cell phone with me so you can text me”

Not wanting to reveal that he had forgotten his at home, the boy just agreed.

“Y-you bet”

After his brother exited the temple and his steps became increasingly difficult to hear, Kouki finally moved from his position. Usually they would just be keeping company to each other in silence. Kaito would be praying or writing on strips of paper, while the boy would be doing his homework or drawing something. A simple routine that he was used to ever since he was younger. And now that he was by himself, he felt lost. To shake off these feelings before he focused only on that, he took the pot of bento to the kitchen and washed it. Occupying his time with manual activities was one of the best ways he knew to control his mind, before he became obsessed with thoughts that would only increase his anxiety.

So he went back to cleaning the rest of the temple. Dusting it, sweeping the entrance of the sanctuary and making sure that nothing had soiled the tatami, until his arms felt heavy and his hands swollen. In the end he got what he wanted: he didn't think of anything that could make him uneasy in a place far from other people.

When he finally stopped to rest and catch his breath, lunchtime had passed and due to his lack of hunger he decided to go out and walk around the temple. The sky was still cloudy and the boy was still cold, which could discourage him in other situations from going out but the desire to follow his usual routine and distract himself made him keep walking. His legs carried him almost as if they had a life of their own until he reached the right side of the honden, where a trail made of pieces of cracked and rectangular concrete extended in front of him. A view that the boy had always considered to be mystical and that called for him on his visits almost like the visions of shadows that appeared when he did not look for them. And just as he had done thousands of times before he followed this route only to stop in front of the first gray step to admire the sight. From there on more steps awaited him, being divided only by a few more smaller torii and on each side of the aged gates, two stone lanterns were erected. Both had the same gray look interrupted only by the presence of moss on their tops and sides.

And for seconds he forgot how to breathe. At that moment, there was only him and the stairs in front of him. The boy did not know why but in those brief moments standing there he was overcome by the feeling that he might never return and see his family. And yet he was driven by a flash of courage whose origin he did not know. Furihata wondered why he insisted on going ahead, as his legs kept shaking and ice was covering every pore of his body. Many things went through his head on this climb: how foolish he was to act against his survival instinct, how he would miss his mother waking him up every morning and the dinners with her and his brother, in which he told about his day and they discussed the best time of the year to travel and for the youngest to have the opportunity to visit other cities. Kouki did not have the ability, in his childlike mind, to imagine a life without them. And yet his small and cozy world seemed ready to crumble because of his choice. All because of a curiosity that always piqued him like his mother's whispers when she told him a bedtime story. An invitation to immerse himself in the comfort of a dream and experience fantastic feats.

Perhaps because he was lucky once again or maybe he was never in danger on that route and his mind just created imaginary monsters, Kouki reached the end of his climb intact. Gathering himself up for minutes before continuing the desired trail, the boy tried to control his panting before he passed out and hit his head against one of the several stones scattered around the place. There were not many steps he needed to go through, however the terror he felt made everything twice as intense and demanding on his body.

In front of him countless trees stretched in all directions, leaving only a subtle path in the middle of his view. And what he did was follow this discreet track through nature, recounting inside his head every little detail he would see in the next few minutes: the dry leaves that rested on the ground in disarray; the lake he used to watch for hours and the bridge that he needed to pass through from one end to the other. The boy crossed it hoping to find just more trees and winding path on the other side. What Kouki did not expect to find was the rectangular piece of paper held between two trees by a thread. Out of curiosity and his tendency to put himself in danger the boy climbed the gentle slope to approach it. Up close, he could read what he had seen from afar. The word  _ seal _ was inscribed in it, with an old dried black ink. Even though he didn't know exactly what this was about he had a bad feeling about it. The only thing that he was sure of was that his brother had done this since the presence of other people wandering in the region furthest from the temple would be abnormal.

And if Kaito was responsible for putting that paper there, he should have a good reason. So not wanting to put his life on the line a second time he turned to return to the sanctuary. However the unexpected rustle of leaves moving to his left made him stumble. And in his state of panic he grabbed the thread in front of him, making it snap. The pain of having hit his face made him ignore the strange sensation in his hand and the seriousness of what had just happened. But the moment he sat down he noticed the stinging sensation in his hands. On a detailed inspection of his surroundings after the pain became just a faint throb, the feeling of dread quickly consumed him. He had torn the threads that held the paper and now it was on the floor torn as if it was mocking him. Furihata got up quickly without being overwhelmed by the feeling of dizziness thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his veins, ready to run and hide in the temple until the eldest returned and could help him.

But the instant he turned to go back to the trail and down the stairs he saw something unexpected. Just a few steps away a fox rested among orange leaves. Kouki was almost absolutely certain that the animal was not there a few minutes ago and for it to be in such a deep sleep, it certainly wouldn’t have been something that could have happened suddenly. Even though it was a different animal, the boy could not help feeling afraid of its closeness, remembering the times when a group of boys at school threatened to release the dog that was being held by one of them on him. That is why, whenever he left home, he tried to stay away from the places where he could find them and have to relive that circumstance. Kouki never forgot the loud and severe barking and laughter of others as they saw him shivering and flinching, and he has since then avoided animals with sharp teeth. Yet while watching the animal and wondering if he should run or walk before it woke up, it opened its eyes after taking a deep breath.

The fox's eyes fixed on the boy, bringing the sensation of cold down his spine and awakening his flight instinct. That calculating look made him remember the cats of his neighborhood who always seemed to see through him. Seeming to have more sentience than an ordinary animal the fox stood up and walked over to Furihata as if to intimidate him. However instead of snapping at the boy as he imagined, the fox just sniffed his clothes as if searching for something specific. And seeming to have found what it wanted, the fox snorted before letting their eyes meet again - which brought relief to the boy. Standing next to him and showing no signs of aggression, Kouki began to examine it’s appearance more closely, now that it didn’t seem as if his heart was in his mouth. The fox was the size of a medium-sized dog, with a light yellow coat and dark brown spots. It’s fur looked soft and he felt the urge to run his hand through it although the dirt on it’s coat caused by probably rolling on the damp earth made him give up on the idea. His mother would not be happy to have to remove the mud residue from his clothes and he would not like to give her more trouble. Despite this, what really caught Furihata's attention were the brown eyes with specks of gold that seemed to understand him.

In a trance that he could not explain, Kouki raised his left hand and slowly brought it to the animal. However before he could touch it’s muzzle the fox opened its mouth with a bark, ready to devour him whole.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I'm back to writing fanfic. AkaFuri is a pairing that I can't ever get enough and it's a shame it's not that popular :c  
> I'll be updating my other fanfic soon too now that my depressed ass is feeling better. And thank god my bf is still helping me translate everything. I was almost giving up trying to do everything alone lol  
> Also I'm curious, do you guys have any idea of what kind of yokai Akashi is? /wink wink


End file.
